Well, I turned the big 3-9 on July 14 and I've been spending the last week trying to ignore it. This was a big one for me. My dad died when he was 38, so I spent a lot of time this year kinda holding my breath. Don't know why the age a parent dies somehow signals something ominous for you -- His destiny is not my destiny, as I have repeated to myself for many years now -- but it does. So for 12 months I have wondered if I would meet the same fate, leaving young kids behind and never seeing my grandkids. I also spent a lot of the last year realizing just how young he really was when he died. I feel like I've got a lot of years left in me -- well, maybe not a LOT, but a few decades anyway -- to accomplish things on my To Do List.
So last Sunday night at one minute past midnight, I rolled over to face Joe and said, "I made it." I can't describe the weight that lifted from my shoulders just seeing the clock hit 12:01. I can, however, describe Joe's response as being something between a snore and a very sleepy "Happy Birthday." So much for sentimentality...
On Monday morning, the girls greeted me with hand-picked and homemade gifts. Kelsey gave me the sweetest necklace that came with a poem explaining that the necklace stood for a hug anytime I needed it, even when she wasn't there. So Sweet. Then Sydney had made a little wall hanging from wooden blocks, spelling out MOM in red and yellow. She had glued little crystal jewels all over the blocks and attached yarn to the back so I could hang it on my door. It has found a place on my laundry room door where it greets me every morning as I leave my bedroom. It is FABULOUS.
It was a very low-key birthday, pedicure gift cards from Joe, sugared peaches from Mom and a little family get-together around the pool later in the week. Earlier in the week, Tracy asked me what I was doing 10 years ago this time. I was very pregnant with Kel-Bell 10 years ago, helping Mom move into her new house and nesting in mine. I was remodeling the guest bedroom and making it a nursery. And kinda full circle, I am now in the middle of remodeling Kelsey's bedroom again, a decade later.
This past week, Joe and I also tackled some of our remodeling plans. We finished Sydney's disco room, complete with disco ball and dance floor. She loves it. Here is a link to a video we took the night we finished it. It doesn't really do the dance area justice, but you get the general idea. Syd's Disco Room
We are waiting on a couple of extras for Kelsey's room and it will be transformed from Dalmations to Horses, saddle on the wall, pink sparkly horseshoes all around the room and S'Mores, her robotic horse, showcased behind a white picket fence. I'll post pictures once it's all complete.
Funny side story -- Right in the middle of remodel time, the air conditioner decided to blow up. People, it is the HOTTEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR! This happened Friday night. Saturday morning, the air conditioner man comes out and notifies us he can't get the part until Monday morning. We deal with it, ship the kids off to Mom's, go out for dinner and come home, hoping the temperature at night will allow us to open the windows, hit the ceiling fans and everything will be bearable. Not the case. At 9:30 Saturday night, Joe was buying a portable air conditioner at Lowe's. By 10:30 I was shipping the girls off to spend the night with Mom and Joe and I were preparing to sweat. I will say that the portable air conditioner did cool things enough to survive Saturday night, but last night was a different story. Joe and I pretty much walked the halls off and on all night trying to find a cool spot. It was so humid outside that the little air conditioner that could really just couldn't do much and so we just had to suck it up. Thank God the air conditioner man showed up this a.m. with part in hand and, I am happy to report, there is air pumping again through the house!
Well, I guess that's it folks. Nothing real exciting. Just the usual. We are heading to Ohio to see the in-laws this weekend. Things are going to be gearing up in the next month. School starts mid-August, as does Sydney's dance classes and Kel's fall softball activities. I'm sure in the midst of that there will be much material to blog about in the coming couple of months. Watch out in September, as J. starts driving and I'm sure I will have LOTS to comment on there!
~Peace
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